Dough handling apparatus



A. E. HEIN DOUGH HANDLING APPARATUS Sept. 23, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed Feb. 25; 1955 III 1 11 ,1 III/II 11/ AMI W vii.

INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS Sept. 23, 1958 A. E. HEIN noucu HANDLING APPARATUS ZSheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 25. 1955 lg INVENTOR.

AUGUSTi HEIN FIG. 5

ATTORNEYS United States Patent filice Patented Sept. 23, 1958 DOUGHAPPARATUS August E. Hein, Cincinnati, Ohio, assignor to Century MachineCompany, Cincinnati, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application February25, 19.55, Serial No. 490,583

11 Claims. (Cl. 1'07--1'5 their somewhat sticky or adherent nature tendto hesi-' tate on the dividing head prior to droppingrto the .conveyortraveling underneath and consequently many of the dough pieces leavingthe divider will .not :be evenly spaced apart on the convcyer. In someinstances a dough piece may hesitate .sufliciently before falling to theslowly traveling transfer :conveyer so that a dough piece in the samebatch isdropped on top of :it. Various stationary strippers such as.wiresand the like have been employed to prevent dough pieces fromclinging tothe face of the dischargingtram or to theedge of .thedoughcylinder, however in general such deviceshave not been satisfactorybecause .thedough pieces have often tended to hesitate on the strippersthemselves priorto dropping to the conveyer below. In depending upon.the forces of gravity to transfer the dough pieces from the divider orthe like to the conveyor, control of thevdough pieces is lost and theresult is the non-uniform spacing of the dough pieces discharged whichin many instances will be sufiiciently misspaced so that subsequentoperations cannot be performed on a particular dough piece .or group ofdough pieces and the latter must be removed from the processing line.

One. of the prime .objects .of the instant invention .is to providesimple andpractical apparatus which not only strips the dough piecesfrom the measuring head but also retains control of them throughouttheir travel to the discharge conveyor by positively transferring themimmediately to the-conveyor. In the instant operation each dough pieceor group of dough pieces.is :propelled to the co-nveyer by means whichoperates cyclically-in definite timed relation so there can be no.hesitancy which would create the variable spacing referred to or resultin one dough piece dropping on top of .:another dough piece.

.A further object of the invention is to provide means of the typedescribed which is disposed inan out ofthe way rest position until justprior to the time his to be employed to strip and deposit a batch ofdough pieces and consequently will .not interfere with the operation ofany of the other elements of .the divider or tend'to strip ofiportionsof the dough pieces duringthe forward revolution of themeasuring head.

Another object of the invention is to design. stripping and depositingmeans .for a divider or the like which may be driven in perfectsyn-chronism with the other operating elements thereof from the samemechanism which drives the said other elements.

A further object of the invention is to design highly reliable andefficient stripping and depositing means which operates to flick thedough pieces to the discharge conveyor and thence is sharply withdrawn'so that dough pieces will never tend to cling to the said means.

Another object of the invention is to design stripping and depositingmeans which are of simple and practical construction and can be readilymounted on 'dividers which are currently in use Without extensiverebuilding of these machines and undue expense.

A further object of the invention is to design relatively rapidlyoperating stripping and depositing apparatus :of the type referred :towhich does not harm the vdoug'h pieces it handles.

A still further object of the invention is to provide 'a divider withstripping and depositing means of the type described which can be veryeconomically manufactured and assembled on the machine Without addingappreciably to the final cost thereof.

With the "above and other objects in view, the present inventionconsists in the combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter morefully described, illustrated in .the accompanying drawings, and moreparticularly pointed out in the appended claims, it being understoodthat equivalent changes may be made in the various elements whichcomprise the invention without departingfrom the spirit thereof or thescope .of the appended claims.

In. the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a sectional side elevationalview showing my stripping anddepositing means mounted on a divider with the said means being shown inrest position.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary, side elevational view showing thestripping and depositing means in position to strip a set of doughpieces from the rotary dividing head.

Fig. 3 is a similar view showing theapparatus depositing dough pieces onthe conveyor below.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary, top plan view of the mechanism for driving thestripping and depositing apparatus only.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary, front elevational view taken on the line 5-5.ofFig. 2 with the dough pieces omitted from the view in the interests ofclarity.

Referring now more particularly to the accompanying drawings in which Ihave shown a preferred embodiment of the invention a letter D generallyindicates a divider on which the stripping and depositing apparatusreferred tomay be employed. For the sake of convenience the machinedepicted is the divider shown in the previously mentioned patent,however it is to be ;understood that the apparatus may as easily be usedwith various other machines of other design wherein the same or similarproblems are to be solved and it is to be understood thati do; not wishto limit the invention in any manner by showing the instant divider.

The divider D illustrated in Fig. 1 includes a frame or housing ,10mounted on a base 11 and provided at its upper end with a hopper 12which is supplied with dough in the usual manner. The hopper 12 and adough box plate :13 within the housing 10 which form anextension of thehopper 12 will when permitted to do so supply a charge of dough to adoughb-ox 14. The passage of dough from the'hopper is regulated by areciprocatory knife 15.which in forward position as in Fig. 1 forms aclosure for the bottom of the/hopper extension 13. Mountedbetween thebottom of the box 14 and the knife 15 is a dough plunger 16 whichcompresses the charge of dough in the box 14 and forces it to flowthrough the end outlet 17 of the box into a dividing head 18 which is inpressure tight engagement therewith .as described. in the aforementionedpatent. The head 18 has a plurality of passages 18a through which thedough passes into a corresponding plurality of chambers or cylinders 19in a measuring head 20. cylinders are shown in the instant measuringhead obviously any other number of cylinders could have been shown. Themeasuring head 20 which is revolvably supported in any acceptable mannerhas rams or pistons 21 in the cylinders 19 thereof which move from theends of the cylinder in which they are shown in Fig. 1 to the oppositeends thereof to force the dough pieces P from the cylinders 19 when thehead is revolved so that the bores or cylinders 19 open downwardly tothe transversely disposed underlying conveyer belt 22 which removes thedough pieces to another machine in the processing line.

A crankshaft 23 is provided to actuate the measuring head 20, knife 15,and dough plunger 16 in timed se quence, and driving the crankshaft 23through a sprocket 24 mounted onone end thereof is a chain 25 which istrained around a sprocket on the output shaft 26 of a speed reductionunit R. A motor 27 is connected to the input shaft 28 of the reducer bya drive belt 29 which is trained around sheaves 3t) and 31 on the motorshaft and shaft 28 respectively.

A connecting rod 32 mounted on one throw of the crankshaft 23 rotatesthe measuring head 29' and reciprocates the rams or pistons 21 to ejectthe dough pieces at the proper time in the cycle, the upper end of therod 32 being connected to the head 20 eccentrically to rotate the sameand the rams being actuated upon rotation of the head as in the patentmentioned through a rocker arm 33 on a shaft 34.

The knife 15 and plunger 16 are also driven through connecting rodswhich are mounted on other throws of the crankshaft 23. The knife 15which is operated slightly in advance of the plunger 16, is pivotallyconnected by a link 35 to a floating link 36 which is actuated by theconnecting rod 37, and the plunger 16 is pivo-tally connected by a link38 to a second floating link 39 which is actuated through the connectingrod 40. Both floating links 36 and 39 may be pivoted at their lower endsas at 41 to a spring loaded adjustable block 42 which is slidable on apair of rods 43 as in the aforementioned patent.

Inasmuch as a rotary rather than reciproca-tory measuring head isillustrated, the outlet side 44 of the dividing head 18 is curvilinearand forms a pressure tight hearing or seal for the cylindrical measuringhead 29. In Fig. 1 the knife 15 has cut off a charge of dough which hasflowed or settled into the box 14 and the plunger 16 is pushing thedough through the openings in the dividing head 18 into the cylinders 19in the measuring head 20. The head 20 is about to be rotated in acounterclockwise or forward direction through an angle of approximately90 degrees to a point which is substantially beyond the lower edge 18bof the dividing head 13. As soon as the edge 18b is cleared the rams 21begin to move in the cylinders 19 to force the dough pieces P thereinoutwardly and by the time the head has reached its limit of rotation andreturned to a position in which the cylinders are adjacent the edge 1812the rams have moved to the mouths of the cylinders and the dough piecesP are in position to fall to the slowly moving conveyer 22. Themechanism thus far described forms the subject matter of Patent2,652,790, as previously noted, and is widely used in the industry. Ishall not describe it in further detail since it forms no part of theinstant invention except insofar as certain elements thereof arecombined with the stripping and depositing mechanism which will now bedescribed.

Pivotally supported in blocks or brackets 45 which extend from the frontof the housing 10 is a shaft 46 which rigidly supports a stripper blade49'. The blade 49 is of sutficient width so that it extends to themeasuring head 20 forwardly of the edge 13.5 when it is moved intoposition to strip the dough pieces from the head (see Fig. 2) and is, ofcourse, of sufficient length (see Fig. 5) so that it will operate tostrip dough pieces from all of the bores While four or cylinders 19. Theposition of the blade 49 is controlled by a cam 50 mounted on one end ofthe crankshaft 23, through a bell crank lever 51 and a connecting rod 52which is pivotally connected to the upper end of a bar 48 as at 53.Clearly the bar 48 which is rigidly connected to the shaft 46, and theblade 49 form in effect a second bell crank lever which when the cam 50is moving to the position in which it is shown in Fig. 3 deposits thestripped dough pieces in uniformly spaced relation on the conveyer 22.The angular lever 51 which is pivotally mounted as at 54 on a bracket 55which is secured to the frame 10 is pivotally connected to the rod 52 at56 and has a follower roller 57 riding on the cam 50. Additionally, thelever 51 has a forwardly projecting portion 51a which engages alaterally projecting stop 58 on the bracket 55 to limit the upward swingof the blade 49 and hold its stripping edge just out of engagement withthe surface of the head 20.

The cam 50 is shaped as shown to operate the blade in timed relationwith the other elements of the divider. When the measuring head 20 isreturning in a clockwise direction and the rams 21 are ejecting doughpieces from the cylinders 19 the follower roller 56 is riding on thesurface 50a of the cam (see Fig. 2) and the blade operates to stripdough pieces from the faces of the rams 21 and the marginal edges of thecylinders 19. These dough pieces will immediately be flicked sharplydownwardly to the conveyer 22 as the roller 57 rides the surface 50b ofthe cam. The action is rapid and abrupt so that the dough pieces arepropelled with an acceleration greater than the acceleration due togravity and are deposited in the position in which they are shown inFig. 3 without losing contact with the blade 49. When the roller 56immediately returns to the surface 500 of the cam the blade 49 issnapped sharply up to the position in which it is shown in Fig. 1 and inbroken lines in Fig. 3. Since a far greater portion of the surfaces ofthe dough pieces are in engagement with the conveyer 22 than are inengagement with the blade 49 and the action of the blade 49 is sosh-arp, the dough pieces will never lift with the blade nor willportions thereof tend to be torn off and accompany the blade. The blade49 swings downwardly a sufiicient distance so that it acts to pat thedough pieces on the conveyer before being so abruptly withdrawn. Duringthe time that the measuring head 20 is returning to the position inwhich it is shown in Fig. 1 to receive new charges of dough in itscylinders 19 and until the head has again moved forwardly orcounterclockwisely so that the cylinders 19 are beyond the point wherethe scraper blade 49 is practically in engagement with the head 20 theblade remains in this intermediate rest position. Thus, when the doughwhich is compressed in the pockets or cylinders 19 by the plunger 16tends to expand slightly or grow after it clears the edge 18a and isexposed to atmosphere, the blade 49 is not in a position where it wouldchop off the expanded portions. The spring 58a which is connected at oneend to the lever 51 and at its other end to a lug 59 on the bracket 55tends to return the lever 51 to the position in which it is shown inFig. 2.

It should be apparent that since control of the dough is never lost anduncontrollable forces such as the forces of gravity play no part in theoperation, the dough pieces must always be deposited on the conveyer 22at exactly the same instant in the cycle of operation and willaccordingly be uniformly spaced apart on the conveyer 22 as theyprogress to the next machine in the processing line. The apparatus shownand described to effect this uniformity of deposition is very simple andpractical and can obviously be very economically fabricated andassembled on dividers of various kinds. It should be understood however,that the invention may well be employed in conjunction with othermachines to process other products and that the invention is not to berestricted to the particular application shown. Moreover, it is expectedthat various equivalent changes may be made in the various elementswhich comprise the invention within the scope of the appended claims andit is to be emphasized that the drawings and descriptive matter are inall cases to be interpreted as illustrative of the inven tion ratherthan as limiting the scope thereof.

What I claim is:

1. In a machine for processing products of an adherent nature such asdough, an ejector head moving in a defined path of travel, a movablestripper blade extending in one position toward the path of travel ofsaid head and terminating just short thereof, a receiving surface undersaid blade, and means for moving said blade from said one positiontoward the surface to deposit the product stripped from the head on saidsurface.

2. In a machine for processing products of an adherent nature such asdough, a pivotal stripper blade, a discharge member moving past saidblade, ejector means in the member moving said product out of the memberso that it is received by the blade, and means swinging said bladesharply downwardly to flick said product to said receiving surface.

3. In a machine for processing products of an adherent nature such asdough, a pivotal stripper blade, a head member above said blade movablethrough a defined path of travel past said blade and receiving theproduct at one point in its path of movement and ejecting it at another,a receiving surface under said blade, means associated with said headmember moving said product downwardly from said head so that it isreceived on the blade as the head moves past the blade, and meansswinging said blade sharply downwardly to flick said product to saidsurface.

4. The combination defined in claim 3 in which said latter means alsoimmediately moves said blade upwardly to an intermediate positionbetween said surface and head after it has been swung downwardly.

5. In a machine for processing products of an adherent nature such asdough, a head member movable forwardly and rearwardly through a definedpath of travel, a pivotal stripper blade under said head memberswingable up to a position interjacent the limits of travel of saidhead, means for loading said product into said head when the latter isat substantially the rearward limit of its travel, a receiving surfaceunder said head, means for moving said head member through its path oftravel, ejector means in said head for commencing to move said productthereout of after it has moved through a portion of its forward travel,and means operating in timed relation with said loading means, headmoving means, and ejector means, for pivoting said blade up toward saidhead when the head is near the limit of its forward travel so that theblade will strip the said product from the head as the latter returns toloading position.

6. The combination defined in claim 5 in which said blade pivoting meansimmediately swings said blade downwardly toward said surface when thehead has reached a certain position in its return travel and said bladehas stripped the product therefrom to deposit the product on thesurface.

7. The combination defined in claim 6 in which said blade pivoting meansthence immediately swings said blade upwardly out of engagement with theproduct to an intermediate position between the surface and head andmaintains it there until it is ready to be swung upwardly to said headonce again.

8. In a dough divider, a revolvably mounted measuring head havinggenerally radially extending, substantially parallel, dough receivingcylinders formed therein, dough box means including a curvilinearlyshaped outlet receiving a portion of said head and sealing it off fromatmosphere, pistons forming closures for certain ends of said cylinders,means for transferring dough in said box to and packing it into thecylinders in said head under pressure, said means operating when thehead is in a given position with the ends of its cylinders oppositethose in which said pistons are disposed open to said box, means forrevolving said head! through an arc of travel sufficient to bring thecylinders in said head outwardly of the said head receiving outlet andleading downwardly, a transversely disposed conveyor under said head,means moving said pistons in said cylinders to eject the dough in saidcylinders on the continuing revolution of the head after the saidcylinders clear the said outlet, said means revolving the head operatingto reverse its revolution after the cylinders have traveled slightlybeyond said outlet edge to return the head to dough receiving position,a pivotally supported stripper blade normally maintained substantiallybelow said head in a rest position swingable up to said head atsubstantially the time the head reverses its revolution to a position inwhich it will strip the doughvpieces pushed out by said pistons fromsaid head, and means operating immediately in timed relation with saidhead to swing said blade downwardly and pat said dough pieces on theconveyer and thence to withdraw said blade immediately to said restposition intermediate said conveyer and head.

9. The combination defined in claim 8 in which spring means is employedto snap said blade from down position to rest position and move saidblade from rest position to stripping position.

10. The combination defined in claim 8 in which a common revolvableelement is employed to drive said means revolving the head, and meansfor transferring dough to said cylinders, and said means for operatingsaid blade, in timed relation.

11. The combination defined in claim 10 in which said means foroperating the blade comprises a cam on said common element, a bell crankfollower associated therewith, and a connecting rod to said blade.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,283,987 Van Houten Nov. 5, 1918 1,720,097 Scholz July 9, 19292,081,933 Kaufiman June 1, 1937 FOREIGN PATENTS 323,412 Italy Dec. 20,1934

